Somerville Public Library offers fun, engaging ESL classes

Thursday

Oct 19, 2017 at 4:47 PMOct 19, 2017 at 4:54 PM

By Brigid Pigott

The following was submitted by the Somerville Public Library:

The English as a Second Language (ESL) program is one of the many unique programs offered by the Somerville Public Library. The free, weekly, drop-in style program is primarily volunteer-run and has expanded tremendously over the past year in terms of students (currently serving close to 3,000 students from 38 different countries with 27 different languages) and volunteer teachers (roughly now 40 teachers across all 3 branches).

The program relies heavily on volunteers who lead various English proficiency level groups ranging from newcomers to fluency/conversationalists. While the program does not offer certificates or follow a set curriculum, the classes are popular and fun, and allow students to practice their English skills in a low-key setting while also gaining knowledge of their new surroundings and culture, according to the library. The program discusses questions such as what are the rules of baseball, what is brunch and where is the closest supermarket? It also compares cultures, exchanges funny stories and offers a sense of community where students can feel comfortable to be themselves regardless of their English proficiency level.

The program is so much more than learning grammar rules and conjugating verbs. For example, it holds cultural potlucks where students bring a dish from their home country and explain the ingredients and how the dish is made; staff takes walks to Davis and Porter Squares where students can familiarize themselves with the area they now live in; staff shows students how to load a Charlie Card and they take trips to J.P. Licks to practice ordering ice cream in a real-life setting. The program's mini-“field trips” and cultural nights are recent additions and have become popular with students. Sometimes it’s important to take lessons beyond the library or the structure of a class to have students use language in an authentic setting or to ask questions about the community and culture in which they are now living.

If you can’t attend one of the weekly classes, there are plenty of other ways to learn and improve your English at the library via the ESL collection, which offers everything from TOEFL Preparation to Citizenship Guidebooks to basic English workbooks, as well as an online program called Mango Languages, which can be accessed through the Library’s website and tracks your progress.

If you are interested in attending one of the library's ESL classes, visit the East Branch Library on Mondays from 6 to 8 p.m., the Central Library on Tuesdays from 6 to 7:30 p.m., and the West Branch Library on Thursdays from 6 to 8 p.m. No registration is required.

If you are interested in becoming an ESL volunteer, be sure to contact Brigid Pigott, bpigott@minlib.net for more information. Or, visit the ESL page on the library website, at http://www.somervillepubliclibrary.org/services/esl.

The Somerville Public Library's Library Corner column runs regularly in the Somerville Journal.